Praying With Scripture

We've arrived at Psalm 29, a fierce and rhythmic declaration of God's power and splendor. Two features of the psalm stuck out to us this week: the relationship between the voice of the Lord and the Lord, and the relationship between apocalyptic visions and peace or stability.

Throughout the psalm, "the voice of the Lord" and the "Lord" are described in similar ways, and with identical agency. It's as if they are the same thing. With the revelation of Jesus as the Word of the Father, this makes (in retrospect) good trinitarian sense, but the psalmist knew what he was talking about too, even before the revelation of God as triune through the incarnation of Jesus and the sending of the Spirit. The psalmist knew that God's words are different: they create realities, not just describe them. God's words are his action in the world, and his action is a form of speech.

The chaos of creation and the power of Noah's flood, the spread of fire and the destabilization of an earthquake: these are the psalm's reference points for the power of God. His voice is terrible, and his presence is traumatic. Yet, after all this apocalyptic description, the psalm ends on the word peace. This awful power is directed for our blessing. Maybe it's only by understanding how terrible God's power is that we can begin to receive his peace appropriately. God is enthroned over this seething, chaotic world, with a power that exceeds and threatens it, but his stability is directed toward our good.

Response Questions

How do you ascribe glory to God in your daily life?Do you see and attend to the power of God? Do you understand it as fearful? Do you trust that it's oriented to peace?How should you treat your words, seeing that the God whom you are called to imitate identifies with his words?

Read the whole Psalm at the bottom of this update

Requests and Praises

Training

Resource Books Completion - Pray for Peter and Lisa as they finish the first edition of the Entering Culture Courageously resource book, and the new edition of the From Duty to Discipleship resource book.

Public Trainings - Praise God for a successful Teach Them to Pray event! Pray that God would fill the upcoming From Duty to Discipleship event with youth leaders who are eager to serve him in their ministry.

New Partners - Pray that God would move new churches and schools to buy Wheatstone Trainings for their faculty and staff, so that the Christian adulthood movement can take root in brand new communities.

Staff and Office

Donor Reports and Strategic Planning - Pray for Peter and Lisa as they work on a new round of reports, and pray that God would put it into the hearts of the people who read them to work and give for Wheatstone's good.

Peter and Lisa - Pray for both Peter and Lisa, who are both overstretched, juggling more than they should. Pray that we would stay hopeful and courageous, and pray that we would have wisdom to correctly prioritize our projects.

Interns and Volunteers - We have three regular volunteers or interns this semester. Pray that God would bless their work and our fellowship with them, and pray that God would bring more volunteers and interns onto the team.

Camp

Fall Registrations - Pray that God would move church and school groups to commit to attending The Academy 2018, Living Among Shadows.

Support

New Monthly Givers - Pray that God would increase the number of our Monthly Givers, whose gifts are an essential part of our financial future.

New Benefactors - Wheatstone seeks new large gifts from individuals and granting organizations, so that we can grow. Without them, we won't be able to really take this message across the country. Pray for visibility, favor, and good success!

Send your praises and requests to the Wheatstone staff by replying to this email!

Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters.The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!